2. Kompanie impressions as "nord"

On this page you will see the various impressions the men of 2. Kompanie wear while portraying "Nord". These impressions cover the years from 1941 all the way until the end of the war. Depending on the scenario of the specific event, we will choose an appropriate impression.

You might notice, as the years progress the equipment carried becomes a lot less. As the men of "Nord" became closer with their Finnish comrades, the Finns taught them a lot of things, and by the time the men of "Nord" left Finland, much of their tactics and even the items they carried into the field were very similar to those of their Finnish brothers.

The Finns instructed the men of SS-Division "Nord" to ditch as much of their field gear as possible. Although "Nord was equipped as a regular Gebirgsjager Division, the terrain of Finland made the men adapt to it. Instead of carrying bulky rucksacks, many of the men preferred to carry a blanket roll, often wrapped in a zeltbahn. The men stopped carrying any loud equipment, including mess tins and gas mask canisters. When they officially became a Gebirgsjager Division, the men also preferred not to wear helmets, so they could show their pride by wearing their Bergmutzen with the distinctive edelweiss insignia.

When the men of "Nord" left Finland and were in combat with the Americans in Germany in late 1944 and early 1945, the Americans were amazed at the ability of these SS troops who managed to slip behind lines unseen and wreak havoc for months. These tactics were taught to them by the Finnish, on countless years of long range recon patrols in the Lapplands of Finland.

The SS-Division "Nord" was the only SS-Division not to be accused of war crimes, and was always noted to have acted in a respectable manner. As a matter of fact, in a village in Finland, there is a plaque thanking the men of SS-Nord for rescuing a gold bell and hiding it for the village from the Russians as the Division endured it's long march back to Germany.

It is truly an honor for us to portray these brave men, and we are lucky enough to have the friendship of a veteran of this unit.